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tv   Erin Burnett Out Front  CNN  January 13, 2014 4:00pm-5:01pm PST

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2014? right now 37% of you say yes but 63% say no. the debate will continue online at cnn.com/crossfire. >> join us tomorrow for another edition of "crossfire." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. next president obama finally responds to a white house pr nightmare. >> what is important is that we got the policy right but that this is hard. and it always has been. plus a southwest plane full of passengers lands at the wrong airport. >> rest assured we are safe and sound here and people know we are here. >> how could this happen? and new developments in the so-called thug cycle baby case.
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>> [ bleep ]. >> let's go outfront. don lemon, i'm in for erin burnett tonight. president obama's damage control. for the first time the commander in chief is addressing sharp criticism. in a new book robert gates accuses the president of using faith in his own policy on afghanistan. tonight the president had his turn. >> war is never easy. and i think that all of us who have been involved in that process understand that. but i want to emphasize that during his tenure here secretary gates was an outstanding secretary of defense and a good friend of mine and i will always be grateful for his service.
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>> breanna, this has been a pr nightmare for the obama administration. a former member of the president's inner circle speaking out while the president is still in office. >> reporter: this is certainly unwelcome for the administration especially because when you think of secretary gates he is someone considered to be measured, though he obviously served george w. bush and was a carryover for president obama. he has criticized george w. bush and seen as someone who is a straight shooter. this has been what those close to president obama told me is very disappointing for them but at the same time i think there is a sense from white house officials and those close to the president that perhaps this will subside down, at least as far as president obama is going. the most serious of the charges, though, and i think this is particularly alarming is the charge that president obama committed troops to a mission
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that gates said he didn't feel he was really dedicated to. that is the most serious charge and troubling for the administration. you notice today when you heard president obama speaking this is the white house strategy which is not to attack secretary gates for fear that that will back fire. also, we have sort of seen white house officials and saw president obama do this today highlighting the fact that differing discourse when it came to what to do in the war in afghanistan. they sort of highlighted that as a positive, sort of building on a team of rivals, people have different opinions and certainly value secretary gates. >> tonight we are getting new obamacare enrollment numbers from the administration. we said the success of obamacare hinges on the numbers. the initial target was 3.3 million. about 39% of that young and healthy people. good news or bad news for the president today? >> it is not great news but it
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could have been worse. these numbers are really important because while we are getting enrollment numbers of how many people signed up getting numbers of who all signed up is key. this is key to the formula of obamacare working as it was supposed to from the get go which is young people tend to be inexpensive to ensure and are essential to offsetting older folks. we learned today the enrollment numbers is 2.2 million, more than a million short to what the administration was expecting at this point. that is obviously not great. 24% of those who signed up through december are the coveted age group of 18 to 34. the target was 39%. 15% short. that's pretty significant but white house officials, administration officials are trying to paint this in a positive light. they say this is enough for the formula. they expect there will be more young people who sign up but
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they say this is enough to ensure that costs don't get much higher which was really the concern. of course, across the aisle republicans are saying this is a bust. >> thank you for that. we will move on and talk about two southwest pilots. they have now been grounded tonight after making a potentially deadly landing on sunday. the pair mistook a small airport in missouri for the larger branson airport. there are 124 passengers on board the plane when it landed on the run way about half the length it should have been meaning the pilots only had half as much room as normal to stop the plane. >> reporter: grounded for 24 hours southwest flight 3014 took off and was finally headed in the right direction. rewind to sunday night, two veteran pilots at the controls but it appears they made a rookie mistake. the plane with more than 100
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passengers on board should have landed at branson airport in missouri. instead it touched down about seven miles away. the 737 quickly runs out of run way. the pilot jams the brakes and the plane stops just 300 feet from a steep embankment. >> i had my seat belt on. it was a good thing because we lunged forward and braked for a sustained time. >> could this be anything other than pilot error at this point? >>. [ laughter ] it certainly points in that direction. >> reporter: the run way just over 3,700 feet long, about half the length of the run way at branson. minutes after touchdown a contrite pilot. >> rest assured we are safe and sound here. thanks for your patience. we apologize. >> reporter: the run ways are only a few miles apart, a
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different gps technology would have picked up. mark wise said the pilots must have assumed the first airport they saw was the right one. >> there is enough compasses in the airplane to validate what you want to do. so what you are doing is you are cross-checking one to the other. if one of the pilots didn't check that the other one should have. >> almost feeling like this is ground hogs day. i remember asking a question if there was new technology that could have prevented this from happening. what is going on here? >> that is a great question. don, of course, we know that old technology could have prevented this if it was working and the pilots were paying attention to it. then there is the new technology that would have made it even harder to make this kind of mistake. we recently visited rocco collins in cedar rapids, iowa.
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and the data from your instruments are essentially superimposed on the real world, so to speak. so pilots looking up and through their window will not only see everything that is going on outside but that data is right there in front of the pilot's eyes. meanwhile, don, we should let you knowt that southwest is really doing damage control. they are offering refunds and travel credits to the passengers on this flight. >> i wonder if that is going to be enough. thank you. appreciate that. we turn now to mr. richard quest. you have been covering aviation for eons on the network. when i was a wee baby you were covering it. i'm just messing with you. >> get on with it. >> in the past two months we have seen a number of the similar incidents where planes go to the wrong airport. is it common? >> on average -- eight pages of
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it. on average one or two of these incidents happens every year somewhere in the world. so in 2009 a turkish airlines 737 landed at the wrong parpt. polish airport. saudi arabian jumbo jet at the wrong airport. it happens every now and then. it is inexcusable and usually there is an element of pilot error because they weren't communicating with each other and looking at the instruments but it happens. >> i figured we were talking about this and i said this cannot be that common that this happens. you said it happens a couple of times. >> the first one was in 1935. the zeppelin landed at the wrong field. i was not covering it. >> that's because you were on vacation.
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shouldn't they have known from the air if you see a run way? this is a big plane? >> not necessarily from the air because the perspective could be a little bit off. admittedly one is 7,000 and one is 3,500. they should have been checking instruments. air traffic control should have been able to see. there is all sorts of ways this could have been avoided. ultimately, of course, they got the shock of their lives when they were coming in on final approach over the threshold, put the aircraft down and suddenly realized the red lights at the end of the run way coming at them much faster. at that point full on the brakes. and the run way incidentally that had a very steep drop at the other end. thank god nothing went wrong here in the sense of nobody was injured. there is no question this is a serious incident. it does happen. >> our senior -- i'm kidding
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with you. aviation expert. always a pleasure to esee you. thank you, sir. still to come here on cnn. four days, hundreds of thousands of people unable to drink tap water or bathe. tonight that could be about to change. plus governor chris christie faces new algrations critics say he misused millions of dollars in sandy relief money. and today a judge ruled where the child will end up. i'm beth... and i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people.
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tonight more trouble for new jersey governor chris christie. federal officials are investigating whether he misused relief funds for hurricane
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sandy. >> reporter: when hurricane sandy hit new jersey chris christie led from the trenches in a skillful response rocketed him into political superstardom. a new federal investigation into how the new jersey governor spent some of the sandy relief money could threaten to wash away the foundation of his political brain. cnn learned federal investigators will examine the tourism marketing campaign, a campaign paid for with sandy recovery money. >> we are stronger than the storm. >> you bet we are. >> a campaign that featured christie and his family during an election year. >> reporter: democratic congressman requested the investigation and federal officials tell cnn it is now moving ahead. but he says this is not about politics. >> this was money that could have directly been used for sandy recovery.
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and as you know many of my constituents still haven't gotten money that is owed them to rebuild their homes or to raise their homes or help. >> reporter: pallone says promoting the shore was a good idea but has a question of how much taxpayer money was used to make the ads. the next lower bid that lost out was nearly half the price at $2.5 million. and wouldn't have featured the governor, according to pallone. the ads caused controversy as they hit the air waves while christie was running for reelection. christie's opponents slammed him arguing it gave the incumbent governor an unfair advantage. >> i think there might be a conflict of interest there. that is a real problem. that's why when people are trying to do good and trying to use taxpayers' money wisely are
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offended to see our money spent on political ads. that is offensive. >> at the time christie aides said it provided more value and today the governor's office released a statement saying federal agency reviews are routine to ensure funds are distributed fairly. we are confident that any review will show the ads were a key part in helping new jersey get back on its feet after being struck by the worst storm in state history. the office of inspector general at the office of housing and urban development has concluded there is enough evidence to launch a full-scale investigation. >> taxpayer dollars were used for ads promoting the governor because he was in them with his family, during an election campaign. >> reporter: christie's office questions the timing of the investigation. indeed, it couldn't come at a worst time for the scandal-plagued new jersey republican. christie is facing probes as to whether his staff tied up
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traffic to punish a democratic mayor who refused to endorse him. >> interesting report. what is next for christie when it comes to this case? >> reporter: the hud inspector general's office confirms they are investigating and congressman pallone tells us it will take a couple of months at least before a full report will be released to the public. already at least two democratic mayors believe the governor was the best man to star in the ads. >> thank you. appreciate that. still to come one person dead after a movie theater shooting. what the shooter says provoked him to fire. plus a-rod's fight back tonight. how he is responding to a season-wide ban. and the golden globes slammed for having too much
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estrogen? the critic who says it is time to bring back a male host joins me next. look at anything else. i just assumed you went and bought a prius. so this time around we were able to do some research and we ended up getting a ford... which we love. it's been a wonderful switch. it has everything that you could want in a car. it's the most fun to drive... because it's the most hi tech inside... i think this c-max can run circles around the prius... the biggest difference would definitely be the acceleration of the car... if you can get someone to test-drive a c-max... they would end up buying this more times than not.
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watch the golden globes last night? a lot of people did. i'm talking about tina fey and amy poehler, the hosts of the 71st golden globe awards helped draw the largest. 21.9 million people watched. the two former "snl" stars made women a focal point from the get go. >> a very good evening to everyone here in the room and to all the women and gay men watching at home. >> meryl streep so brilliant proving there are still great parts in hollywood for meryl streeps over 60.
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>> "gravity" nominated for best film. it's a story of how george clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age. >> did the two women inject too much estrogen. according to kyle smith the show could have been called girls and wants a male host back. >> there is a lot of tradition of trying to get ahead of the comedy. if you are fat you make a fat joke first. they felt all of the jokes had to be about women. why can't the jokes just be funny. >> you said the show delivered the largest audience in ten years, how can you complain about that? >> if the golden globes want straight men like me to watch it they have to realize there are
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two reasons people watch, one is masculn and one is feminine. the girlie reason is look at the pretty dress. the masculine reason is because five lawyers go into the forest and only one can emerge with the bloody trophiy. there are winners and losers. >> what show are you watching? people watch for the fashion. that's why they have the red carpet. the red carpet is not for guys. and then the dress. is she going to make it up the stairs. is she going to cry? they said women and gay men. >> the football game was over so i had to watch the golden globes. >> you said ricky gervais because gervais reminds us that show biz like in life is mainly a tale of losers. show ratings went up 17% the next year with tina and amy.
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so someone is enjoying the ladies. >> rickey brought the edge back to the show and publicity back to the show and tina and amy built on that. the award show spread out among so many that it was like the little league moms that insists every kid gets the same size trophy. >> are you a masculinest? >> i am. that is exactly what i am. >> interesting. i think a lot of people did enjoy. a lot of lady jokes and a lot of ladies. still to come a chemical spill poisons a water supply in west virginia. why it has been two decades since inspectors visited. dennis rodman returns. we'll show you what he had to say about the north korea trip. and new controversial photos of crack smoking toronto mayor rob ford at a night club. your eyes really are unique. in fact, they depend on a unique set of nutrients.
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welcome back to the second half of outfront. baseball player alex rodriguez continuing to fight his suspension. he filed a federal lawsuit against the mlb association and baseball commissioner's office in an effort to overturn an arbitrator panel decision. rodriguez alleges the arbitrator in the case was biassed. reduced the suspension from 211 games to 162 games. major league baseball association executive director tony clark responded to the suit by saying the claim is
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completely without merit. one man is dead after a shooting at a florida movie theater. pasco county sheriff tells cnn it began when the victim started texting on the cell phone. it led to a violent. only one shot was fired. a witness said this occurred during the previews to the movie "lone survivor." it is no secret that toronto mayor rob ford likes to have a good time. instagram shows the mayor hanging out with patrons but none of the pictures shows the mayor drinking. ford's brother serving as manager of the mayor's re-election campaign said the stop was part of a campaign strategy. now to west virginia and the toxic water crisis they are facing right now. for four days more than 300,000
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people in the state haven't been able to use tap water because of a chemical spill, not to brush teeth, not to breakthrough or even use a wash cloth to wash a dish. tonight about 5,000 residents can and are starting to use their water again. many questions remain about the companies responsible for the massive chemical spill. we will go to jean caserez staer. >> reporter: these tanks sit a mile from west virginia's only water treatment plant. and yet the state has not inspected the tanks since 1991. that's because it says the tanks are now considered storage. >> the material that they were storing there is not a hazardous material. >> reporter: because they are considered nonhazardous they don't have to be fully regulated by the state or federal government and that means no inspections. >> it is something that doesn't
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belong in the river. >> reporter: a water biologist who worked for 43 years at the state's department of environmental protection says just because it is considered a pollutant does not mean it is not dangerous. >> a class of thousands of chemicals. >> these are tanks that should have been inspected, i would imagine. >> reporter: west virginia's u.s. attorney has launched an investigation and says regulated or not, hazardous or not, no one is above the law when it comes to keeping the water safe. >> the tanks were in bad shape, secondary containment systems were shotty, if they had a release, saw it and didn't report it for a while, all of those things are things we would be looking to. >> reporter: goodwin says it is too early to know if laws were broken but the fact that the facility just changed ownership might make it easier to determine who knew what and
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when. >> if you violate federal environmental laws you will be prosecuted. >> reporter: the mayor of charleston who calls this the worst disaster in his city welcomes a criminal investigation but does not let the government off the hook. >> i'm not sure what responsibility the state has here but if not them, who? >> reporter: the former biologist with west virginia's department of environmental protection tells me the issue here is the chemical. it has never been fully tested so it is not known how hazardous it is. because of that the storage facility was never inspected because it is not regulated. he believes if it had been regulated that pollutant, as it is called, or if it were fully tested that would have changed everything of what happened in the last few days. >> jean caserez, thank you, jean. joining me to talk about
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this environmental accident, erin brockovich. officials say some people in west virginia can use their tap water. you said that doesn't mean it is necessarily safe. should residents be concerned there? >> reporter: yes, you know they should be. you can't magically turn the water on and everything is okay. this chemical can still be in the system. we definitely advise people that have elderly parents who may be recovering from cancer or immune system at risk or children to still continue to use bottled water for drinking. >> we are hearing according to a spokesman for west virginia environmental protection that the last time an environmental inspector visited the site where the chemical leaked was 1991. you have been saying this since i spoke to you last week. this is an oversight problem. why isn't there more oversight? >> reporter: you know what, that is the $64,000 question that i
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think that we have been asking for 20 years. we believe that there is this oversight in place for it. you can call it a lot of agencies at a state level, department of environmental protection, epa. we found over 20 years more often than not they are absolutely absent. why that is, i don't know. it is a huge problem. and it is inexcusable that there is this lack of safety that ends up causing these types of disasters. now, it is at everybody's attention here in west virginia. in my world on a day to day basis this is occurring across the board. we are going to eventually have a really big disaster and have to start looking at why. left to rot and deteriorate.
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>> i spoke with the u.s. attorney in the short time that we have left last week and they said they were considering charges, the possibility of criminal charges. do you think that any criminal charges could be warranted in this situation? >> reporter: i definitely think what happened was a crime. it was from negligence that you disregarded a leak that has caused this type of problem. and you harmed people. you have damaged business. you have damaged the state. you have damaged the environment. yes, i think that is criminal. time and time again we go in and sue somebody. money exchanged hands but that is still not solving the problem. maybe if someone's feet were finally to the fire, you are accountable for the situation and you caused the damage and caused harm to these people you are going to face the consequences of a criminal charge. if we do that outside and go harm somebody or assault them what happens? it is criminal. you go to jail.
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maybe it is time we do that. >> erin brockovich, thank you. >> reporter: thank you. turn now to dennis rodman. moments ago the former nba star touched down in the u.s. after a week of controversial basketball diplomacy in north korea a. rodman didn't say much as he walked through newark airport. our cameras caught up with him in beijing. >> i'm sorry for what is going on in north korea. i'm not god. i'm not an mbassador. i am no one. i just want to show the world we can get along. >> rodman insists he was only in north korea to promote basketball. did his trip do more harm than good? kenneth bae has been held in north korea for more than a year
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and cheri chung is his sister and she joins me. welcome. >> thank you. >> did you have any hope that he would be on the plane with dennis rodman? >> after mr. rodman's melt down on camera, no. that was totally uncalled for so we didn't expect assistance there this time. >> you mentioned the melt down. it was a melt down while he was over there. i want to remind our viewers of what he said. take a listen. >> do you understand what kenneth bae did? >> yeah. >> did doo you understand what he did? >> you tell me. what did he do? >> you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they haven't released charges. >> why? no, no. i don't give a rat's ass what the hell you think. i'm saying to you, look at these
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guys. look at him. >> he has since apologized claiming he was drunk and said he is sorry about what is going on in north korea. are you concerned his actions may be detrimental to your brother's situation? >> definitely. we don't know what the lasting damage will be on kenneth's case. i don't think dennis rodman realized the precariousness of this american whose life is on the line in north korea and has been for the past 14 months. >> you know, one of the players on the trip told cnn's new day that he was surprised by the back lash that the game caused and he wasn't aware it would coincide with kim jong-un's birthday. >> what private citizens do on their own time is their own business. i would hope they would be willing to advocate for a fellow american. but our concern is just any harm -- if you are not going to
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help at least do no harm and stay out of the way of real dip lotmatic efforts in progress. >> you have to admit this incident with dennis rodman has gotten north korea back in the news, your brother's story back in the news probably more so than if he had not gone. what do you think is next for your brother's case? >> we are thankful for the outpouring of public support as well as the prominent americans speaking out on kenneth's behalf including governor richardson and senator mccain. we don't know of anything specific in the works but we are hoping the attention to his plight will bring some real diplomatic efforts in progress to bring kenneth home now. it has been far too long. >> terri chung we always appreciate your time. thank you for joining us here on cnn. >> thank you for having me. still to come a major ruling about the so-called thug baby's future. plus a major heroin epidemic
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sweeping through the u.s., one u.s. state and probably not a state you would expect. the conversation about her mortgage didn't start here. it began on her vacation in europe on the day she arrived in london. someone set up a bogus hotspot, stole her identity and opened some credit cards in her name. but she's not worried. checking her experian credit report and score allowed her to better address the issue ...and now, she can move right in. experian. live credit confident.
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which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. time to check in with anderson cooper. >> something we will see only on the program on 360 the strange disappearance and suspicious death of a young african-american man in texas. the question is was it a murder or a coverup? also the newtown school shooting tragedy now possibly includes another painful chapter, scammers profiting by raising money to help. how thousands of dollars of donations have gone missing and
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so has the man who has access to the money. thank you. nebraska toddler taken into custody after unleashing a lewd tirade will soon be back with his mother. an omaha juvenile court deciding the 2-year-old and his 17-year-old mom will be placed with the same foster family. the three have been in protective custody since this video. the video of that toddler went viral. it was reposted by the omaha police union along with the commentary of terrible cycle of violence and thuggery. >> reporter: this video acaused a fire storm. >> pose for the camera. say i'm thugging with my diaper on. >> reporter: a 2 year old being
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provoked to curse and say unkind things. behind the video there is another more personal story to tell about a 2-year-old boy being raised by his now 17-year-old mother who lived with her 19-year-old sister and their 38-year-old mother recently incarcerated on gun charges. we learned there were other children in the house, as well. county attorney believes there was a constant danger. >> some of the danger we have seen previously was the history of gang involvement. there was a shooting involved that one of the children was injured by shrapnel from shots fired. >> reporter: in court the state took action. cameras weren't allowed inside to see the teen mother who appeared for a custody hearing. the 17 year old wibe placed in the same foster care home as their son. they won't be able to return to the home where they lived and the mother will only be allowed to see her son under
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supervision. in a previous interview the child's mother tells our affiliate a friend of her brother shot the video while she was in another room. her face blurred because she is a minor. >> that video was not me. it was a person who came to my house and recorded it. for everybody that thinks i am a bad mother i'm not. i'm a good mother. >> reporter: the teen's guardian shut down the thought of the teen speaking again. >> i said it is not in the best interest to speak to the media of the case. i want the case to play out in court. the court handles these cases every day. >> reporter: now doubt this video got people's attention. now the toddler's legal guardian says the focus should be on the bigger picture, the welfare of this family. >> so this case involves more than just the video that everyone seems to have seen. it involves a family that needs some help.
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and i believe that the state of nebraska is trying to provide this family with the help. >> reporter: so the question we have been trying to track down is when will the toddler, when will the teen mother be placed into foster care? will it be tomorrow or next week? right now it is unclear. one thing is certain that neither of them will be returning to the home where they once lived. >> george howell, thank you in omaha, nebraska for us. let's talk about this and other cases like it around the country joins by sergeant john wells, president of the omaha police union which posted the video and also judge glenda hatchet. this isn't the only case that i'm sure is similar to this around the country. sergeant wels you suggested this mother may be a little tone deaf on the issue after she defended her parenting skills. is it a good idea to have the mother and son under the same
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roof with the same foster family? >> ultimately i'm not a child psychologist. i'm sure there is some consideration knowing looking at the situation and determine it is probably in the best interest of the small child. i imagine there is trauma from removing the child from his mother. i understand they are going to get counseling. ultimately it is a much safer place in a foster home with a caring foster parent than the situation they were in which was clearly dangerous prior to this. >> judge, do you agree with that? >> let me say that the court is charged with doing what is in the best interest. i applaud the fact that the judge has removed them and put them in protective custody. that is what we need to focus in on, the words protective custody is what we are dealing with here. and the fact that they are going to be in the same foster home is wonderful. it gives that young mother a chance to be and bond closer
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with this child under the protection of a and i think that's the way we need to do this. >> but judge, not everyone is happy that this child was removed. there are many saying, who's business is it for the police department or the state or whomever to take this child into protective custody. >> oh, my goodness! oh, my goodness, don. this child was in a situation. this did not just start with this video. let's move back quickly. june, they were being monitored. they were moved. there was a drive-by shooting. there was another case later in the year, where there was a party and several people were arrested. illegal weapons seized. this has not been a stable environment. >> so why the outrage from people who believe that this kid should not be taken? why are people outraged by it? >> i don't understand it. i have seen thousands of children, don, you know in my work, as a juvenile court judge, i have seen thousands of children who, unfortunately,
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have had to be put in protective custody, and this is a situation that we need to put this child in a stable situation, because whether people acknowledge it or not, that is a form of abuse. that child, what happened in that video, he was not just repeating what he was being told, he was also -- >> judge, i'm going to play devil's advocate here. >> okay. all right, don. >> there are lots of people of kids of every race cursing. you'll see white kids, hispanic kids, asian kids, who are cursing online. what makes this one different? >> no, no, no. this was not just about this child cursing online. it was about him being prompted to do so by people in that home. he was, you know, he was not getting the kind of attention and the kind of nurturing that he needs. but it's not just this video, don. and i want to stress that to everyone who's listening to this. this has been a family in crisis for a while. and i think that this video was
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kind of a last straw in a series of things. and i'm hoping the that this will be a nurturing environment in this foster home. so that this young mother and her son will be able to thrive. now, the critical question is, what happens once this mother is -- >> what happens after this? that's the question. and if she goes back to the same kind of behavior and environment that got them in this predicament in the first place. but, judge, you are the first person who's come on, i believe, with sergeant wells here, to sort of back up what he was saying. >> no -- wait, wait, wait. wait, hold it right there. i absolutely am appalled that the join posted this video. let me be real clear about this. i think it was inappropriate, i think it was inappropriate for that child's face to be shown. i don't think that that really was a constructive matter. and i take real issue with the union posting that video. i mean, let's be very clear about that. i do agree with the result of the judge putting the mother and
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the child in foster care. >> that's what i'm saying here, is about the cycle of violence. we're not talking about the posting of the video. we're talking about the cycle of violence. posting of the video is a different story. do you want to respond to what she said, sergeant? >> well, as far as removing the child from the home, i think it was the best interest. and i think the judge makes a very clear distinction about the protective custody, that it really is about the interest of this child and what's best for this child at this point. and granted, part of the story is the fact that the mother, herself, in a lot of people's view, is still a child herself. >> and she is. >> it will be interesting to see in the next couple of years, months and years, how the state treats that, because, again, if she puts herself back in these situations when she's no longer a minor child, and she is, in fact, an adult, we still have to deal with the child's best interests, and whether or not the child should be removed from her at that point. but, clearly, at this stage, the state has done the right thing. i think it's a positive step, and i'm hopeful for a positive outcome. >> listen, both of you have --
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>> it doesn't justify the video being posted. >> she said, it doesn't justify the video being posted. sergeant, you said it's not a rare occurrence. judge, you've dealt with thousands of children who have been taken away from their parents and put into protective custody. besides from putting out a video about breaking this kind of cycle, what more needs to be done to keep children with their parents, keep them in a safe environment and out of protective custody? >> it is a very complicated situation, don, and there is no simple answer. but what i did, often, on the bench was to do early intervention. any saw signs, if i saw some problems, we would try to do early intervention with the parents, so that we didn't have to remove the children. but it's about education. it's about support. it's about us as a community paying attention. >> judge, that's going to have to be the last word. thank you both very much, appreciate you coming on cnn. still to come, vermont's governor devotes his entire state of the state address to
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there's been a lot of discussion about marijuana these days, but the legalization of recreational marijuana in colorado. this and other media outlets have featured a number of pieces about pot in the past month, because, well, pot is hot. if there is a more pressing drug issue facing this country, i'm talking about heroin. and surprisingly, the situation is particularly dire in vermont. last week, the state's governor,
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peter shumlin, devoted his entire state of the state address to the heroin addiction gripping vermont. nearly twice as many people died from heroin overdoses in 2013 as the year before. state legislators estimate $2 million worth of heroin and other opiates are trafficked into vermont every week. and 80% of vermont's incarcerated population is addicted or imprisoned because of drug addiction. which brings us to tonight's number. $1,120. that is what it costs the state every week to keep someone in prison. compare that to just $123. that's what it costs each week to house the same person in a state-financed drug treatment center. that's according to the governor. it's easy to get caught up in all the hoopla surrounding the legalization of marijuana. it's equally important to focus on the real problem of illegal drug addiction and the lack of treatment for it in this country. it is a story that is very
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important to us, andti i'm goin to have a lot more on the subject tomorrow night and i hope you will be able to join us then when we focus in on it a little bit more. i'm don lemon. thank you so much for watching tonight. "a.c. 360" anderson cooper starts right now. erin, thanks. good evening, everyone. tonight, 360 investigates the strange disappearance and suspicious death of a young african-american man in texas. serious doubts being raised now about the investigation. also tonight, a major scare and screwup in the skies. why pilots dropped this airliner on to a runway built for a cessna. they were lucky no one got hurt. the question is, why did it happen at all? and later, another alleged scammer accused of cashing in on the newtown shooting tragedy. he is missing. drew griffin is on his trail. we are keeping 'em honest tonight. we begin with that investigation that you'll only see on this program. it starts in rural texas, with one family's serious question surrounding a young man's disappearance back in november and the discovery nearly three s